Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, has concluded his trip to India, what will likely be the final foreign visit of his tenure. His speech at IIT Delhi, delivered on 6 January, revealed the real reason he chose to make India his last official visit—one that will be marked as a redefining moment in US-India relations.
“It is fitting in many ways that…in this moment of technological transformation, India and the United States are taking our partnership to the next frontier—together,” Sullivan said. “And—if we can get it right—I believe this partnership will be the most consequential of the 21st century.”
During the Biden administration’s four years in office and a continuing Modi administration at home, US–India relations have deepened, with science and technology as the pivotal focus areas. Sullivan leaves behind a legacy of collaboration and mutual progress, particularly in critical areas such as defence, energy, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and global supply chain diversification.
Perhaps his most consequential contribution is fostering a working comfort between the two nations. India and the US have “built habits of cooperation”, moving beyond the “hesitations of history”—a phrase Sullivan borrowed from Indian Prime Minister Modi’s address to the US Congress in 2016.
For India, these hesitations largely stemmed from an ideological divide rooted in its non-aligned past. At the same time, the US grappled with recalibrating its approach to a rising India in a multipolar world.
Science and tech partnerships
In his speech, Sullivan traced the foundation of the US-India technological collaboration back to Jawaharlal Nehru’s tour of the US in 1949. The three-week-long goodwill tour included a visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This inspired Nehru to lay the foundation of IITs, which are essential today in generating a large part of the Indian talent pool.
Interestingly, Nehru told Indians studying at MIT, “You who return as engineers, electricians, specialists in mechanical fields, will do untold good for your nation. It is in those fields we are the weakest.” Who knew that in seven decades, India’s surplus talent would become the backbone of the ‘American Dream’?
The Biden administration’s continued engagement with New Delhi has been marked by initiatives like the Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), designed to foster collaboration in cutting-edge fields such as biotechnology, quantum computing, and space exploration.
A key highlight is the growing cooperation in human spaceflight, particularly between Indian and American astronauts, as India prepares to dock its manned mission. This partnership will culminate in the first-ever joint effort at the International Space Station, with the Axiom-4 mission scheduled for launch in 2025.
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Decoupling from China
The US-India collaboration is forward-looking and undeniably holds bipartisan potential, even with President-elect Donald Trump assuming office later this month. However, how he perceives India while formulating a counterstrategy in the Indo-Pacific region will be a key development to watch. Under the Biden administration, the idea of decoupling from China stirred significant frustration in Beijing, emphasising that such a shift was impractical, given India’s deep economic ties with China.
The 21 October agreement on disengagement at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China saw Beijing blaming the US for “its efforts to court India” to apply pressure. What stands out further is the China +1 strategy, which seeks to reduce dependence on China, particularly in manufacturing.
Apple’s expanding investments in India are poised to take a major leap in the coming years, with projections indicating that “a quarter of all iPhones in the world” could soon be produced in India.
Interestingly, shifting geostrategic calculations in the region—the disruptive rise of China chief among them—have acted as a wake-up call for both countries. The White House and the Indian Prime Minister’s Office have adopted converging strategies such as introducing production-linked incentive programmes in critical sectors like biopharmaceuticals.
China supplies over 40 per cent of the world’s active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). It accounts for around 19 per cent of the global antibiotic exports, while the antibiotic ingredients alone making up 45 per cent of the global figure.
The need to reduce reliance on China and diversify supply chains has catalysed the formation of the Bio-5 coalition, comprising the US, India, Japan, Australia, and the EU. However, co-investments in R&D and tax incentives to attract manufacturing facilities remain complex.
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Defence cooperation
Defence cooperation between the US and India could be termed the cornerstone of their present-day strategic partnership, especially under the Biden administration. It’s a remarkable journey from when Washington viewed New Delhi’s policy of non-alignment and close ties with Moscow as obstacles to its regional objectives in South Asia. However, as Sullivan mentioned, over the last 25 years, the bilateral relationship has undergone a profound transformation on multiple fronts.
What indeed underscores the progress today is the evolution of defence exports, which are no longer a one-way track from the US to India. The US is now the top destination for Indian defence exports, signalling New Delhi’s ascent as a global defence manufacturing hub.
This stands in stark contrast to the 1980s when the US refused to sell advanced combat aircraft to India over critical technology transfer concerns. The Biden administration has also approved technology transfer proposals that pave the way for India to become the world’s first global producer of the Stryker combat vehicles.
Another significant declaration Sullivan made in his address is the removal of the longstanding regulatory barriers that hindered civil nuclear cooperation between India’s leading nuclear entities and US companies. This aims to foster deeper collaboration in nuclear energy and promote resilient, clean energy supply chains.
The restrictive measures, which resurfaced occasionally since the 1970s, were first imposed in response to India’s peaceful nuclear explosion in 1974. The US enacted several export control mechanisms like the Export Administration Act, limiting India’s access to nuclear technology and materials for decades. This easing will open new avenues of cooperation and more private bodies for it to collaborate with.
The technological strides in AI, spearheaded by initiatives like iCET, underscore a future where both nations lead the way in innovation. At the same time, the Indo-Pacific remains a critical theatre for global security and economic growth. For the incoming Trump administration, recalibrating this dynamic with India will be crucial as the broader Indo-Pacific strategy, especially vis-a-vis China, hinges on sustained cooperation with New Delhi.
Rishi Gupta is assistant director, Asia Society Policy Institute, New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)